Formula 1 set to drop elimination qualifying

The FIA and FOM [Formula One Management] have accepted a request by Formula 1 teams to drop the live elimination qualifying session from the Chinese Grand Prix next weekend.

A new system, in which drivers were eliminated at 90 second intervals in Q1, Q2 and Q3, made its debut in Australia and was universally criticised, but the sport could not agree on a solution and it was used once more in Bahrain.

After more criticism, teams met with FIA President Jean Todt and Formula 1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone on Sunday morning but once more an agreement could not be reached.

All 11 teams wrote to the FIA and FOM before a vote on Thursday to unanimously demand that qualifying reverts to the system used between 2006 and 2015.

The change still requires approval from the F1 Commission and the FIA's World Motor Sport Council.

"At the unanimous request of the teams in a letter received today, Jean Todt, President of the FIA, and Bernie Ecclestone, commercial rights holder representative, accepted, in the interests of the Championship, to submit a proposal to the F1 Commission and World Motor Sport Council to revert to the qualifying format in force in 2015," confirmed an FIA statement.

"This proposal, if approved by the F1 governing bodies, will take effect as from the Chinese Grand Prix and will apply for the rest of the season.

"Jean Todt and Bernie Ecclestone welcomed the idea put forward by the teams to have a global assessment of the format of the weekend for 2017."

The tweak means that six drivers will be eliminated at the end of both Q1 and Q2, with 10 drivers competing in the Q3 shootout.